


The Newlywed Effect

by onewomanshow



Series: By Kismet or Happenstance [5]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Dom/sub Undertones, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Dominant Zuko (Avatar), Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Lemon, Light Angst, Light Dom/sub, Married Katara/Zuko (Avatar), One Shot, Oral Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut, but they make up, they're fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:48:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onewomanshow/pseuds/onewomanshow
Summary: The honeymoon phase has worn off and Zuko and Katara have reached a rut in their relationship. Long gone are the days where they were two teenagers trying to figure out their feelings for each other. Now, they're adults with a country to run and the pressure has taken its toll. But, unlike his forefathers, he knows exactly what to do to fix it.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: By Kismet or Happenstance [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764538
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74
Collections: zutara (ATLA)





	The Newlywed Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Trying my hand at this whole dominant/sub thing because duh, why not? May dive more into it. Another companion piece.

_"Please prepare the Fire Lady's private quarters." Katara requested that evening at dinner._

_"I will not allow that."_

_Katara scoffed. "As if you can forbid me to do anything! I am the Fire Lady, that room rightfully belongs to me."_

_Zuko sat his glass down, albeit harder than he intended to, and winced. "Katara, we're husband and wife. We're not sleeping in separate chambers."_

_***_

That was earlier in the day. And although they weren't sleeping in separate quarters, they weren't doing much of anything else either. 

The only sound that could be heard coming from Fire Lord Zuko and Lady Katara’s chambers was a stiff, uncomfortable, and deafening silence. There wasn’t the usual melody that accompanied a husband-and-wife coupling, no boisterous laughter from neither party, nor the casual conversation that followed a long day.

If the room wasn’t occupied, this wouldn’t be of concern. But the fact that both Zuko and Katara were in the room at the same time and nothing was going on was troubling. As much as the guards stationed outside hated the grunts and moans that became far too familiar to their ears, this newfound silence wasn’t like the young couple, and part of them actually preferred the former.

To the world, he was Fire Lord and she, Fire Lady. Long gone are the days where they were two teenagers dancing around their feelings for each other and the subsequent honeymoon phase that followed was nothing but cherished memories now. Now, there were days where they didn’t have much or any time, for themselves. As a result, almost a year into their marriage, they fell into a monotonous routine. Zuko would be well into his morning mediation and workout before she even woke up, followed by crowded, busy schedules, and at night, both of them were too tired to do much of anything. Running a country and trying to keep the world from ascending into chaos again by dismantling rebel organizations, preventing coups, building a unified republic where people from all nations can co-exist, and stabilizing an economy still crippled by a century of war meant treaties, trade agreements, and policy briefs were often brought to bed. There was always something that needed to be worked on – and as such, Katara and Zuko hadn’t spent any time working on what was an essential piece to any healthy relationship, intimacy, and for their relationship in particular, an heir.

Katara found it incredibly ironic how much the Fire Sages pressed the importance of procreating to ensure that the legacy of the Fire Nation fell into capable hands when it was time for Zuko’s reign to end – and yet they were so worked to the bone, particularly because of them, if she might add, that nighttime rendezvouses meant collapsing into the bed to sleep and nothing more.

Oh, how she misses the days when they were younger and discovering ways to make each other fall apart all over the palace. She refrained from saying _young_ , after all, she was only 22 and Zuko, 24, but both felt so _old._

So here they were, working on their own separate tasks – Katara at her vanity table and him huddled up at his desk, trying to avoid addressing the obvious.

It’s Katara who decides to speak first. She wasn’t getting anywhere anyway. Her mind was far too distracted to focus on the document she was supposed to be drafting. It didn’t help that Zuko always smelled like a mixture of mahogany and allspice after his nightly bath, a scent she’d grown to love – it was just adding to her frustration.

“Zuko, what are we doing?”

He looks up from the manuscript he’s working on. “What do you mean?”

Katara sighs and cracks her knuckles, hands cramped from a long day of writing and re-writing the mission statement for the school set to open in Republic City along with other documents. “This. Us.” She justifies to the empty space between them and the heavy atmosphere in the air.

Zuko frowns, turning in his seat to face her. “I know.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “What happened to us?” Katara pauses, trying to find the right words to say. “Life. Somewhere down the line, things just got…crazy.”

“Yeah.” He nods in agreeance. “We’re both so busy.” 

Well, at least they were talking to each other again and not just sitting in a smothering silence.

“I miss you, you know.”

He raises his good eyebrow at this. “But you see me all the time. We’re always around each other, in meetings, at public engagements...it’s one of the perks of working alongside your spouse.”

She shakes her head, suddenly feeling small and unsure. Damn him for making her feel this way after all these years. She was an adult, not some pubescent teenage girl. “Not like that, Zuko. I miss _you_. Not the Fire Lord, you.” She bites her lip then and it suddenly occurs to him what she’s referring to. He had been feeling the same way, but Katara was always so much better with words than he was, and he never wanted to pressure her into doing something she didn’t want to.

Zuko stands up and pushes his chair in, a knowing smile on his face. “I guess we have to make up for lost time then.” 

“Zuko, we cannot just have sex and expect the problem to go away without talking about solutions to fix it.”

He sighs. “I know that.” Then, he walks towards her and gently pulls her out of her seat, a sly look in his eyes. “But there will be plenty of time for that later. After all, I plan on keeping you up all night.”

Any rebuttal Katara has is caught in her throat. In a single movement, his mouth is placing hot kisses on her neck and a hand has found its way underneath her robe, palming through the fabric of her underwear. He hisses, sucking in a breath. He was not expecting her to be _that_ wet.

“Shit, Katara. I’ve barely touched you.”

“I said I missed you. You don’t how many times I’ve had to restrain myself from taking you in my mouth under the table in meetings. And when you told me you wouldn't _allow_ me to do something? I liked that more than I should.”

“Oh really?” He pushes her robe open and kisses his way down her body, pausing to pay extra attention to all the spots that make her keen and gasp in his arms. Rolling a nipple in between his thumb and index finger, it hardens at the touch and he grins. He gives it one final tug before moving to the other, suckling it into his mouth. Katara sucks in a breath. “Did you miss that?”

“Yesss.” She purrs.

“Good.” Then, he kneels, stopping just below her belly button. He breathes deeply, blowing a tendril of steam and she shudders from the heat. He kisses her through the fabric, capturing the thin material between his teeth and she gasps. Then, he’s tugging her underwear down, gently biting her knee so she lifts her leg, and tosses them somewhere in the room. “Did you miss this?” In an instant, his tongue is lapping at her center and Katara’s eyes nearly roll back in her head at the sensation. It’s been far too long. She couldn’t believe she’s been deprived of this, from him, and his mouth on her. How long has it been? A few weeks? Months? She wasn't sure, but she knew she never wanted to go this long without again. 

He hesitates. “I asked you a question.” 

“Yes!” She finally manages to choke out.

Zuko smirks. “What about this?” He asks, inserting one finger and curling it against that spot he discovered years ago. “Found it.” He chuckles, noticing Katara’s shaky, unstable legs. He hoists her up by throwing a leg over his shoulder and continues his ministrations. Adding another finger and increasing his pace, she whimpers. “Zuko, I’m going to…”

“Or what about this? Did you miss this too? Because I did.” He presses a heated thumb against that sensitive bundle of nerves and Katara lets out a deep, guttural moan, grasping onto the table to steady herself as she arches her back. It's the sexiest thing he’s ever seen, watching her explode like that just from his touch, and he saves it in the mental file he has of her in his head.

He pulls away, licking his lips and looks up at her through hazy, amber eyes as Katara’s chest heaves up and down with shaky breaths. “Spirits, that was...wow.” She breathes, collapsing into the chair.

Zuko stands, before leaning down to kiss her, letting her taste herself on his lips. As he pulls away, he smirks. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Katara smiles wickedly. “Neither am I.”

***

They lay together in the large bed that no longer feels like a prison of silk sheets. Katara curls up to Zuko, a hand on his chest, feeling the staggered heartbeat that lays underneath. She missed this - the post coital cuddling and enjoying each other’s presence while their limbs were entangled. It was so simple, and yet, both would relinquish their crowns if it meant more time to just sit and be still. 

“So, I think we need to set some boundaries and rules.” Zuko suggests. 

“I agree. We shouldn’t neglect each other like this. We’re going to have to figure out a way to make it work. Beyond sex.”

He smiles. “Yes, beyond sex, because we already do that pretty well if I do say so myself.”

Katara rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever." She pauses briefly. "You know, the Fire Sages had all of those rules of engagement, but they never gave us any for a successful marriage."

Zuko snorts. "Considering ours wasn't arranged, I doubt they have much to offer beyond the usual 'don't kill each other'." 

"That's true."

They fall back into a silence, but this one is a lot more comfortable. Katara purses her lips together, appearing to be in deep thought before her eyes widen. “I got one.”

Zuko quirks an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“We definitely should not bring work to the bedroom.”

“I like that. Means I get to take my crown off...figuratively speaking.” 

While Zuko appeared as a confident, powerful man in his regalia, he always melted under Katara's touch. Not only was she his Queen, but his safe space as well. She allowed him to let his guard down and be vulnerable because she always had his back. 

“Only if I get to take mine off too.”

He bites the inside of his cheek. “I don’t know, I kind of like it when you’re dominating and in charge. It’s sexy.”

Katara looks up at him. “Oh really? I don't need to wear it to do that though.” Then she starts peppering kisses up his chest, nipping at his collarbone.

“Katara, wait…”

“Not uh, Fire Lord. You said you planned to keep me up all night.” She crawls on top of him, her bright, blue eyes shining with excitement.

“But I thought you wanted to talk about this.”

“We will. Can you not do more than one thing at the same time?”

Zuko scoffs. “Oh, I can. It’s you I’m worried about. You tend to lose all coherent thought and can barely form the syllables of my name whenever I’m inside you.” He smirks, staring up at her.

She leans down and whispers against his lips. “Oh, we’ll see about that.”

***

Outside the door, a pair of guards stand watch. One of them groans and sticks his fingers in his ears, attempting to block out the sound. “I can’t believe we actually missed this soundtrack.”

The other one chuckles, shaking his head. “Yeah, but while the quiet was nice while it lasted...it wasn’t like them though.”

He shivers at an animalistic noise that sounds like a mixture of a growl and pained cry. Was the Fire Lord...sobbing? He didn't even want to know. "Yeah, it’s good to have them back.”

The following morning, Katara is sitting on Zuko's lap during breakfast, giggling, as they feed each from the fruit platter that was placed on the table. Their night consisted of passion-driven intimacy and lighthearted conversation as husband and wife, friend, and lover, not political figures. They set guidelines and made promises to leave work, at work because at night, they were each other's and that's all that mattered. 

The servant smiles and turns to the younger one with her. "I don't think Lady Katara will be needing her private quarters prepared for her after all. Perhaps we can start prepping the nursery though. Just in case. " 

**Author's Note:**

> Spilled some filth on my keyboard so I had to clean up with some fluff ;)


End file.
